


The Way of the Wind

by just_enough



Category: Naruto
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Non-Massacre, Anbu Uchiha Itachi, BAMF Haruno Sakura, BAMF Team 7, BAMF Uchiha Itachi, Blood Kink, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, But Things Get Heated, Canon What Canon, Canon-Typical Violence, Crack Treated Seriously, F/M, Flashbacks, Fluff and Crack, Haruno Sakura Deserves Better, How To Date An Elite Shinobi: Does Anyone Know?, If It Can Go Wrong Wooing Your Brother's Teammate It Will, No Smut, No Uchiha Massacre, Non-Graphic Violence, Not Canon Compliant, Post-Timeskip, Protective Haruno Sakura, Romantic Fluff, Shinobi Are Not Entirely Sane, Strong Haruno Sakura, Team Dynamics, Team Feels, Team as Family, The Real Hero Of This Story Is Uchiha Mikoto, The Strange Courting Practices Of Shinobi, Threats of Violence, Uchiha Brothers-centric, Uchiha Itachi Has Issues, Uchiha Itachi Is Not A Pacifist, When The Authors Rewrite Everyones Backstory Because They Can, no one is normal, they are here, violence kink
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 06:55:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29804631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/just_enough/pseuds/just_enough
Summary: ANBU Captain Uchiha Itachi had things well planned out, until a medic-nin with ridiculous hair went and made herself interesting. Sakura insisted she was just doing her job, but Itachi didn't quite see it that way.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Itachi
Comments: 35
Kudos: 93





	1. How Interesting

**Author's Note:**

> It's really hard to believe that we originally wrote this story between 2008 - 2011, and that we thought we would wrap it up somewhere around ten chapters (ha!). What started out as a lark quickly became an attempt to showcase a (somewhat) realistic piece about Sakura/Itachi feasibly having a relationship. Keep in mind, we wrote this before the Big Reveal, and were under the assumption that Itachi was just crazy enough to kill his entire family, including the children. We really wanted to maintain that sense of crazy for Itachi without taking away the awesome that is (or should be) Time-Skip-Sakura. In the AU, our goal was to maintain Uchiha Itachi's core crazy, but if he'd been given some guidelines to maintain as a child. This story is what we came up with.
> 
> We are very a happy with what we wrote a decade ago, which, honestly, seems like a completely different lifetime after 2020. However, when we discussed taking the time to transfer this story to A03, which we believe to be far superior to FFN, we discussed doing a little bit of a refresh on the story. And that is what we have done. 98% of the story is exactly the same as it was, as we were, and still are, very happy with how we completed it. But we have fixed some of the grammatical mistakes, and while there are no major changes to plot or to the majority of scenes, we did a little bit of a dive back into Sakura. We have not been unaware of some of the criticisms of this story over the years, and while some of those flaws were written intentionally, we made the decision to go back and clarify intentions, to hopefully give the reader better insight into the emotional development of the relationship portrayed between Itachi and Sakura. That said, in this story, we are dealing with shinobi. People who were taught as children to kill. They are not sane, their understanding of boundaries is flexible, and Itachi is an intense man. 
> 
> This may not be a story for you. Please mind the tags. :)
> 
> We would also like to thank everyone who has read and loved this story so much. We are continually amazed that people continue to not only read TWOTW on FFN, but to leave so *many* comments. Particularly, seeing readers go back to TWOTW during quarantine and then express how much joy the story brought them again has been absolutely lovely. That really meant a lot of us, as 2020 sucked so hard, and your comments were one of the major drives to moving this story to A03 and updating the content. We cannot thank you enough for your support or express how much it has meant to us over the years. Thank you so, so much for joining us on the ride that is this story.
> 
> We wish you all the absolute best. - Just Enough

The day Sakura Haruno splintered an entire oak tree inches away from Sasuke's head was the first time Itachi bothered to take note of her.

Oh, he had _seen_ her before. Sasuke's little pink haired teammate who he had seen cry more times than he cared to remember; her and the loud-mouthed brat who held the fox demon behind his navel. Sasuke’s genin team. Unremarkable, except for the fact that they hadn’t yet died.

It had been years since he'd seen them interact as a team, though, with Kakashi taking a personal interest in one particular student and the remaining two slipping away to other forms of instruction. Besides a passing notice of who his brother was spending his time with, Itachi hadn't particularly cared about who his teammates were except that they kept Sasuke alive.

But the way Haruno shattered the tree made him _look_ at her. Her face had reflected a challenge, and her posture demanded attention from someone she obviously still held in high esteem. Itachi had been interested in his brother's reaction of wide-eyed surprise. He'd made a note about her obvious improvement, and the fact that it now appeared that his brother might stay alive a little longer than he had suspected without his help after all.

After that incident on the training grounds, it had been another two years before he bothered to pay any actual attention to her, and even then it hadn't been his choice. For some reason, the Hokage had decided to send her pink-haired apprentice on a mission with his ANBU Unit. It had forced him to deal with her whether he wished to or not.

"For practice," Tsunade had said a twist to the corner of her lips that Itachi hadn't particularly liked. He could have argued that ANBU missions were not places for pink haired girls, even if they could splinter a tree with nothing but chakra and their knuckles. It would have been a waste of breath. Little girls who couldn't handle themselves wouldn't come home, and the Hokage already knew that.

It wasn't until Shisui was down and poisoned that he learned the real reason behind Haruno Sakura's involvement in the mission. And it wasn't until they were all home, and somewhat in one piece, that he realized she had sparked a faint, niggling curiosity in the back of his mind.

* * *

Despite having just come in, Sakura refused to just sit down until she had made certain, _personally_ , that every member of her team was going to be fine. She was a medic, and it was a matter of personal pride that her team came home safe. The poison Shisui had received was rare, iron-based, and she had been forced to perform a very specialized, very dangerous procedure in the field.

She had extracted the majority of the poison, but she was concerned about the remnants remaining in his bloodstream. She'd handed the poison sample she'd kept over to Shizune when they had arrived at the hospital, and was planning to head to the labs to help with the antidote just as soon as she checked on her remaining two team members, who were tucked away into a room.

Inuzuka Hana was already relaxing; her dog curled by the foot of her bed. The jounin tracker had pushed herself to the limit and was suffering from mild chakra exhaustion, but Sakura's earlier scan proved that was all that was wrong with her.

"How are you feeling, Hana-san?" Sakura asked.

Hana grinned at her, "Just fine, medic. I've got your nurses all scurrying to bring me my favorite flavor of jello. You'd better go give the Captain the clear to go before he burns down my curtain with his glare."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "As Captain, I'm sure Uchiha-san appreciates that I'm following procedure," she pitched her voice to be heard. "Injured shinobi are to be handled in the order of their severity, and I want to personally make sure my team is fit."

She winked at Hana and lowered her voice, "It has nothing to do with running us for two days straight without rest on our way to the checkpoint."

Hana's laughter followed Sakura around the curtain as she steeled herself to face the severe gaze of Uchiha Itachi. She had always considered Itachi to be a more intense version of his brother, harder and rougher around the edges. The past few days she had learned just how sharp those edges could be, but she had also learned why so many ANBU finagled their schedules to be included with his unit when there was an opening.

He really was brilliant.

There was no expression on his face as she pulled back the curtain. It had taken her a few days to pick up the knack, but she'd learned to judge his eyes instead of his jaw or mouth to guess his mood. His eyes were his most dangerous weapon and he let them do most of his talking. She hadn't been able to put her finger on if it was a habit of his or an intimidation tactic. Knowing the captain in front of her, she figured it was a bit of both.

"Captain," she'd picked up the form of address on their third day out, and he had yet to correct her. Somehow, calling him Uchiha-sama seemed to be admitting defeat in these conditions. Here she was on even footing, if not better. "Let's take a look at you."

Those eyes narrowed a bit as she studied the line that had once been a cut along his temple, and her fast but thorough scan showed that while his chakra levels were low, they weren't nearly as low as Hana's had been.

"You should be fine to leave in the morning." Sakura informed him as she jotted down a few notes on his chart.

"I am capable of leaving now."

"That's probably true," Sakura said without looking up. "Except for the fact that we're dealing with an unknown poison, you pushed yourself almost to exhaustion and that if I keep you overnight I can bully Shinsu into staying where we put him as well."

"Is that so?" Itachi's voice was cool and if she hadn't been looking for it she would never have heard the faint bite to his words.

"We both know that if you bothered to rest between missions, your chakra reserves never would have gotten this low in the first place. Tsunade's actually been quite concerned with your health," Sakura told him, lowering her lashes to hide her eyes. "She thinks she might have been pushing you too hard. Falling over would just prove her point, don't you think?"

The vague threat had those dark eyes narrowing even further before he wiped away all expression from his features.

"Hn."

"I'll tell your family they can see you in a few moments." Sakura promised him as she set the clipboard down. Leaning forward she sharpened her smile. "If you consider pulling a Kakashi on me, I'll have Tsunade take you off the roster for the next month."

His flat expression was answer enough and she nodded before turning. "Have a nice night, Captain."

-

Itachi watched his brother's teammate turn to walk away. It seemed as if she had no intention of checking herself into the hospital for the night. Ignoring her instructions, he switched to the basic form of the sharingan in order to get a better read on her chakra signature. It appeared that although it was significantly depleted, she still had just less than half her chakra left.

Perhaps this was a result of the chakra control he occasionally heard Sasuke muttering about?

Itachi was well aware that the mednin in front of him had developed a considerable amount of chakra, but it was still far less than his own. To be able to manage every task with precisely the amount of chakra needed and no more was indeed… efficient.

"Haruno."

She paused, and turned to glance at him over her shoulder.

He stared at her and noted that she did not hesitate to look him in the eyes, even with his sharingan active. Her only response was a frown, and she opened her mouth in what would inevitably be a reproof, but he cut her off. "How is Shisui?"

Her frown deepened. "I told you before. I removed most of the poison from his system. Even if discovering the antidote for the poison takes several days, he will still live long enough to take it. But I don't think it will take that long. I'm on my way to the labs now, and if this poison stumps me for more than a day, Tsunade-shishou will have my head. Shisui will be fine, Captain. You won't be, if you don't turn off that sharingan."

Itachi let the sharingan flicker out of existence. Haruno had the upper hand for as long as he was in the hospital, and he was accepting of this fact. For now. Better to let her have her way, when it was a simple thing to give than to push her temper when she clearly had the advantage of her teacher's ear. She wouldn't always have the leverage to hold him.

Closing his eyes, he leaned back against his pillow. The door to his room opened and closed quietly, and only then did he let his mask drop. No, his brother's little teammate wouldn't always have the advantage, and he would enjoy pushing until he was satisfied that he had figured out whatever it was about her that had caught his attention categorized and the mystery solved.


	2. Just Like Poison

**5 Years Ago:** _Forest of Death_

"Don't you dare Sasuke," Sakura hissed, fingers clutching even tighter against the kunai in her hand. "Don't you dare go near him, don't let him touch you."

Part of her was screaming to go to his side and hold him back if she had to, but she couldn't leave Naruto's unconscious body. Her brain was working fast, working over every strategy, every possible way to get away and to get help. This wasn't some genin attempting to gain chunin status. This was something else, and her stomach was twisting itself into a knot of fear and terror. She couldn't fight this.

Sasuke's jaw was clenched tight, sharingan bright in his gaze. He was bleeding from the hit he had taken earlier and she could see lines of strain along his mouth and eyes. He knew that he was the only one who could try to fight what was before them and she could tell by the way he wasn't looking at her that he didn't think he could win.

Swallowing back her tears, Sakura was forced to wait to see what would happen next.

"Sakura…"

"No," she snapped.

"Stay out of the way, Sakura."

She wanted to throw her kunai at him, but it was the only defense she had.

" _Sasuke_!"

There was no flash of chakra, no warning. There was empty space, and then suddenly he was standing between Sasuke and that…monster with a man's face.

Sakura only saw his back. Long, flowing hair covered any symbol that would have been stitched onto the standard ANBU wear. She had no idea who it was, and she didn't care, all she knew was that help had arrived.

Sasuke suffered no such ignorance. " _Aniki_. What are you doing here?"

Itachi ignored him. He was standing casually; his hands loose at his sides and he still managed to give the impression of a coiled spring. This was the first time Sakura had seen the Uchiha prodigy, and her grip on her kunai tightened. There was more going on here than what she understood. She had to protect Naruto. She had to get Sasuke away from that man, that monster, who'd taunted him and offered him power.

She shifted her gaze away from Uchiha Itachi to focus on Sasuke, _willing_ him to fall back, to regroup around their fallen teammate. But it was almost all she could do to stand under the gathering chakra as Itachi and that monster combated each other silently.

"Orochimaru," Itachi said tonelessly. "I told you to stay away from my little brother."

The monster-man laughed, "I couldn't help it, Itachi-kun. He is such a tasty little bite."

That disgusting tongue slithered out and Orochimaru licked his lips. "His ambition makes him so…delicious."

"I can see why you had to leave Konoha to find fulfillment for your ambition, Orochimaru. You really are very stupid."

Orochimaru made a noise that sounded like steam hitting stone.

"Go back to your team, little brother."

Sasuke's spine had straightened, fists clenching at his side, but before he could retort Itachi had disappeared. The tree Orochimaru had been leaning against shattered under the force of Itachi's attack and the monster howled.

They couldn't get involved in this. Pushing herself up, Sakura looked at Sasuke.

"Sasuke!" Her voice was shrill and too high but she didn't care. It caught his attention.

"We have to get Naruto out of here!"

He just stared at her and she struggled to keep from falling apart. Chakra was thick in the area and she could feel the way Itachi and Orochimaru were fighting each other. It was getting difficult to breath.

"Sasuke, please!"

Just as she thought she was going to have to haul Naruto out of the way by herself Sasuke moved, settling beside her to grasp one of his arms.

"Thank you."

Sasuke just grunted as she bent to lift the other half of their fallen comrade. Slinging Naruto's arm over her shoulder, she bunched her free hand in the back of Sasuke's shirt. He didn't say anything, just looked to her for confirmation that she was ready before they leapt into the trees.

The sound of the battle faded as they retreated deeper into the Forest of Death. The fog of chakra expanding from Itachi and Orochimaru's battle clouded Sakura's senses completely, and they ran until the air was a little lighter and it became easier to breathe.

Carefully, they eased Naruto down against a tree and Sasuke took a few steps forward to secure the perimeter.

"Sasuke-kun… that was Orochimaru." Sakura couldn't help but shiver at the name. It was a dark name, tainted with evil and betrayal and it held more power over Academy students than the boogey-man. "Should we tell someone? I mean…he shouldn't be in Konoha. The Hokage should know about this. That's more important than getting any scrolls or being made chunin, we have to protect the village —"

Sakura abruptly shut her mouth. She was babbling. Sasuke-kun knew all this. But shouldn't they go do _something_?

"Don't bother," Sasuke didn't even bother turning around. His hands were clenched into fists, flexing at his sides. "Itachi's there."

Well, yes, she agreed that Itachi was very certainly _there_ , but he was only one shinobi against one of the legendary sannin. Against _Orochimaru_.

He could be coming back for them at any time. Oh kami… Sakura shuddered, remembering the killing intent in Orochimaru's eyes.

"But Sasuke-kun—"

Sasuke whirled around to face her, his sharingan twirling, "I said _don't bother_. Just take care of the dobe. We'll be moving soon."

Sakura stared at him with wide eyes, desperately attempting to understand what was going through his mind. He was right though, and dealing with Naruto would give her something to concentrate on other than how badly her hands were shaking. Swallowing hard, she hid a sniffle by reaching for her pack.

Biting her lip, she pulled out the roll of bandages she had packed and set about dealing with Naruto's head wound and the cut on his ribs. Sasuke was silent as she worked and she took a deep breath, rubbing her cheeks with the back of her hands.

"Come here."

The bright red of Sasuke's eyes clashed with hers and she took another breath.

"I need to check that cut."

"It's fine." He dismissed her, turning his back.

"Sasuke," the voice was quiet and low and Sakura spun, kunai firmly in hand as she crouched over Naruto. The air in her lungs dispelled in a huge breath as she saw Sasuke's brother. There was blood on his face that she didn't think was his and the sharingan was spinning in his eyes as he took in the area.

Sasuke's hands clenched into fists so hard and quick, Sakura winced. She straightened up from her attack stance when she recognized their rescuer, but she did not loosen her grip on her kunai. There was more going on here than she understood.

Sasuke shifted so he could face Itachi fully. He had moved to stand slightly in front of her now, so she only saw a corner of Sasuke's profile and the fan spread across his back.

"Itachi. What happened to Orochimaru?" Sasuke's voice was low and clipped, and it was obvious where he got that tone from.

A strange conflict of emotion passed across Itachi's face. One corner of his mouth twitched up even as his eyes narrowed. "He ran away. He won't be back any time soon."

"You have blood on your face," Sasuke said.

"You have a cut on your arm. Come here."

Sasuke stiffened, but moved forward until he stood directly in front of his older brother.

Instead of inspecting Sasuke's arm, like Sakura had expected Itachi abruptly took Sasuke's head in his hands and tilted it, first one way, and then the other. Then he crouched down so that their faces were even, his hands still on either side of Sasuke's head.

"Did he touch you?" his voice was as even as ever, but there was just enough of a faint growl in the undertone and rumbling shifting of chakra that Sakura automatically dropped back into a defensive stance.

"Besides the cut? No."

Itachi let out a short breath and straightened up, releasing his grasp on Sasuke's head. "See that he never does. If you can manage that."

Itachi reached out, poked Sasuke in the forehead, then turned and walked away.

There was silence in the clearing before Sasuke whirled around, eyes flashing.

Sakura widened her eyes but before she could say anything Naruto moaned.

"What hit me?"

" _Sakura_ ," Sasuke growled.

She hesitated and swallowed before meeting Naruto's eyes. "A really ugly tongue."

"What?"

Sasuke stomped over, his eyes flashing. "We have to go."

"What?" Naruto asked, still a little dazed.

"The scrolls, dobe! If we want to pass, we need the scrolls!"

"And Orochimaru took ours!" Sakura gasped, eyes widening.

"So we need more." Sasuke snarled. "Let's go!" Turning on his heel, he moved away.

Naruto blinked. "What's his problem?"

Sakura stared at him and finally shrugged. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

* * *

**Present Day:** _Konoha Hospital Lab_

Sakura stared at the iron-based poison in front of her with a dark frown. It shouldn't be taking this long to figure out the composition of the poison. She was good with poisons. They were just complicated puzzles, with missing pieces. Finding the pieces were part of the thrill, though they could be equally frustrating.

"It shouldn't be taking this long." Shizune murmured from beside her, her voice as close to irritated as she ever came. She was studying Sakura’s detailed note, a faint frown at the corner of her lips.

Sakura turned to face her directly, and offered the other medic a tight smile. "Perhaps I am just tired."

"No," Shizune said. "It's a complicated poison. You've managed to isolate two of the main ingredients. I am confident once you find the third you will find the antidote."

Sakura pulled a face. "I know. At least, I hope I know."

Shizune laughed. "It's moments like these that I am reminded why Tsunade-sama chose you as her apprentice."

"My wonderful sense of self?"

Shizune smiled and started making notes on the scroll she held. "You're so much like her at that age. Now, the good news is I think I recognize something here that I don't think you have come across yet."

Sakura brightened. "Oh?"

"Hmm. It's an isotope that we find in Wind Country more often than in Fire. It might be what you're missing in your diagnostic." She offered Sakura the now updated notes. “Good luck.”

"Wind Country…" Sakura mused. Shaking her head, she skimmed the updated information thoughtfully, and then turned back to her microscope to see what exactly Shizune was pointing out.

She _would_ figure this out.

-

Itachi was playing shogi with Shisui. Shisui was not much of a player, and Itachi really couldn't decide which was more boring - playing or not playing. But Shisui was as close a friend as he had formed within the clan, and considering that he was waiting to see how long he was going to live, and had been under his watch when he had been injured, Itachi felt it was only right that he spent some time with him. He looked up moments before the door opened, when he felt a familiar chakra approach.

Sakura opened the door and turned around, dragging a lunch cart behind her. "Hello, Shisui-san, Uchiha-san. I've brought lunch."

Itachi's eyes narrowed imperceptibly. He'd been under the impression that nurses brought lunch, and that Sakura would be busy forming the antidote. That she was here like this must mean it had been completed. Why didn't she say as much?

"Ah, Sakura-chan!" Shisui said. "It's good to see your pretty face! All the staff here is just so lovely, I should get injured more often!"

Sakura smiled at him while adjusting his bed, fluffing his pillow, and setting the lunch trey across his lap. "I'm glad you've had such a pleasant experience, Shisui-san."

Itachi's eyes narrowed further. He had never seen the kunoichi respond quite like that before.

Sakura continued pleasantly, "Mai, in particular, was telling me about your appreciation. She mentioned something about you being scared of needles?"

Shisui chuckled a little uncomfortably.

Something flickered in Sakura's hand under the lunch tray and Itachi had just enough time to decide to let her do what she wanted before Shisui yelped.

"What the hell was that?"

Sakura leaned forward, smiling unpleasantly close to Shisui's face. "That, Shisui-san, was the antidote. Mai told me all about you wanting to 'hold her hand.' Drive one of my nurses from the room again, and you will regret it."

Shisui blinked at her before smiling hard enough to crinkle the corner of his eyes. "Of course, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura stared at him and then nodded, moving away from the bed. "Good. The antidote that I gave you should take care of the lingering poison."

"Great! When do I get to go back on duty?"

Sakura's mouth curved at the edges. "Go back on duty? Shisui-san, we just rescued you from death's door. I'm afraid you're off the active duty list for at least two weeks."

Shisui stared at her in dismay. "But…"

Itachi considered Sakura Haruno as she continued to stare at Shisui and that curious little half-smile that intrigued him. It was obvious she was used to dealing with difficult patients, and had the confidence to threaten them with immediate retribution for misbehavior as well as force them to deal with the long-term consequences of their actions. He had no doubt that the only reason Shisui was off duty for two weeks was because of his behavior with the curvy nurse who had attempted to help him earlier.

It appeared there was a ruthless streak in Haruno. Ruthlessness was not uncommon in kunoichi, but it was not a trait he had associated with her before. His eyes returned to the board in front of him as he carefully reorganized his mental compartments. She was startlingly efficient, and after their mission, it was a word he was beginning to associate with her.

"I shall leave you two to your game. Remember Shisui, one more complaint…" she let the threat hang before giving a half-bow and leaving the room with long, confidant strides that showed off her legs.

As he moved his next piece, Itachi idly wondered if she was efficient when she was crushing the skull of her opponents. She hadn't done much fighting after Shisui had been knocked out of the battle, and he was curious to see how she responded to violence.

Perhaps he would find out.


	3. Flirting?

**16 Years Ago:** _Uchiha Compound_

Itachi stared at the small body that was his little brother. Sasuke was all right for a baby, he supposed. Not _nearly_ as annoying as Hana's little brother and Sasuke occasionally hit what he was aiming at with rice balls. Itachi had tried to give him some helpful suggestions, but besides chewing on his fist or gurgling out what sounded like "Ini," Sasuke hadn't exactly proven to Itachi that he was worth any time. Ka-chan had promised that he hadn't said or done a lot when he was Sasuke's age either, but he sincerely doubted he was as slow developing rice ball attacks as his brother. At the very least he was certain that he had managed to _say_ the names of those around him fair quicker than Sasuke.

Still, Ka-chan had said that Sasuke was important and she smiled every time she saw them together. So Itachi made sure that he spent some time daily with Sasuke, preferably when his mother could see it. However, today, Sasuke was trying something new. It was the first time Itachi had actually understood why his mother was so fascinated with Sasuke.

Fugaku had taken Ka-san out to get some time away from the baby. Well, he was pretty sure Ka-chan had threatened their unfortunate Oto-san with bodily harm if she didn't get a break, and so Itachi found himself watching the baby. The baby that was staring at him with big, adoring eyes as he kept pushing himself t(A03)o his feet when he was supposed to be taking a nap. There was something about watching a very small person try something for the first time that was fascinating. A newness that couldn't be defined… and if Sasuke kept going, Ka-chan was going to be very disappointed that she didn't see his first steps.

"If you do that when Ka-chan isn't here to see, she is going to be upset." Itachi warned Sasuke, but he hunkered down and held out his hands anyway. There was something about watching Sasuke try something new, his balance unstable as he teetered on his feet that brought a smile to his face. He wanted to see if Sasuke could do it. He would just make a point to not mention it to Ka-chan.

"'Ini!" Sasuke said, smile lighting up his round face. Shifting his weight, he took several steps forward before falling back onto his well-padded bottom with a surprised look. His little brows bunched together and he looked like he was torn between crying and trying again.

"Come here, Sasuke." Itachi said calmly. Sasuke stared, shoving his fist in his mouth before grinning widely and pushing himself up, nose wrinkling as he tried again. This time he reached Itachi's outstretched hands just as his balance gave out, small body planting itself in his firm grip.

Sasuke stared up at his brother, blinking those large eyes before grinning widely. "'Ini!'

Itachi blinked down at the very happy baby in his arms, the way the one small fist clenched his shirt and the thumb now firmly planted in his mouth as he leaned forward so that his head rested against his chest.

"'Ini," Sasuke murmured before shoving his thumb even further into his mouth and relaxing, clearly content where he was. Itachi hesitated before settling one hand on the baby's back, the other sliding under his bottom and lifting him against his chest. Sasuke snuggled even further against him, seemingly content to be held.

Itachi held Sasuke for long moments, brows furrowed in thought. Sasuke had taken his first steps to _him_. While not exactly the _wisest_ idea, since his mother was going to be very displeased if she ever learned about this, it was clear that his baby brother had made the choice himself.

Ka-chan was always telling him that there were people that every individual was meant to protect. That sometimes you were chosen to protect them and sometimes _you_ chose to protect them. Sasuke had walked to _him_ , of all the family he could have chosen to make his first movements in the world with.

Him. His brother. _Aniki_.

A slow smile curved the young Uchiha's mouth. Reaching up, he ran a hand down the now sleeping baby's back.

"I'll protect you."

This was _his_ baby brother, and Itachi made the decision that no one was ever going to hurt him. Because Sasuke had chosen _him_ to walk to, because his mother had trusted him to watch Sasuke and then his brother had chosen him. Because of the way that he was so limp and warm against his chest as he sat against the wall, guarding the baby as he slept.

_'This one is mine.'_

* * *

_**Present Day:** Uchiha Family Restaurant_

Shisui obviously thought the last of his sanity had cracked over the last few weeks, and Itachi hadn't bothered to correct him. Usually when he wasn't out on missions, he was rarely seen around the compound. He preferred to train, meditate, or hunt down Nara Shikamaru for a challenging game of shogi. But since their trip to the hospital, Itachi had instead made a habit of being out and about town.

Since it was unusual for him to be seen, he'd made sure to randomize his appearances so it would not appear to be connected to any particular catalyst. How he satisfied his curiosity was his own business. There was no reason to speak to anyone of his pastimes, not to Shisui, not even to his little brother who he had caught giving him unusually confused looks when he thought no one else was looking.

Perhaps one day Sasuke would learn the art of subtleness, but he wasn't holding out for it. No, there was no madness coloring his thoughts; just a niggling curiosity that wouldn't quite settle to the back of his mind. One he'd had every intention of dealing with in the most… _efficient_ manner possible. Amusement curled through him at the thought.

And that was why he was currently sitting at a family food stand with his brother, ignoring the activity around him, because the best way to approach your prey was through their own habits. Whether Haruno admitted it or not, his brother was a habit and habits lead to patterns. And it was her patterns he was most interested in.

"You're not going to tell me why you're here, are you." Sasuke growled at him.

Itachi turned his gaze from his food to his brother. "No."

"Dammit, _aniki_ , you're about as conversational as…"

"Sasuke, I know you weren't about to complain about your brother's ability to talk when you're about as conversational as a pile of rocks." Sakura slid into the booth next to Sasuke, nodding at Itachi before offering the man behind the counter a bright smile.

"Sakura," Sasuke growled. "You're late."

"You're impatient." Sakura said sweetly as she studied her menu. "Some of us actually work around here, you know. Can't exactly tell death, 'Excuse me, I'm late for a meal with a very annoying teammate, can you come back around three?'"

Habits. Watching them from the corner of his eyes, Itachi was bemused to note that Sasuke had actually relaxed at her approach. It appeared his younger brother had failed to notice the faint sheen of sweet on the back of her neck, or the way her chest heaved just a little. Her hands were steady but there was a slightly glazed look to the back of her eyes that suggested she hadn't eaten properly for her chakra use. Her sass was apparently a weapon she used to distract Sasuke. A disappointingly effective one.

Unbelievably, the levels of his brother's obtuseness had actually increased since puberty. Turning back to his own meal, he kept a careful ear on the conversation next to him.

"How would you know?" Sasuke asked, shoving some of the fried noodles the proprietor had placed on the bar as an appetizer towards Sakura. "Did you try?"

"No," Sakura said, absently dipping a noodle in the sauce and sticking it into her mouth without looking up from her menu. "I prefer to take the more direct approach and beat it back."

Itachi followed her movements with clinical interest. She was relaxing more into her position, leaning her elbows onto the bar in front of her. She was still more tense than he had expected—a possibly by-product of his presence, perhaps?—but the way her hand had automatically gone to the bowl at the same time his brother pushed it towards her spoke either of great familiarity or of significant perception. Her eyes hadn't once flickered off the menu in front of her. In fact…it didn't even look as if her eyes were moving at all.

Itachi's gaze narrowed slightly.

Sasuke snorted, "You would."

Sakura didn't blink; she just flicked a noodle at Sasuke's nose. His brother caught it in his mouth.

"That's cheating, Sasuke."

"If you don't want me to eat it, don't throw it at me," he replied.

Her eyes finally moved on the menu. "I can always use my fists, if you prefer."

Itachi twisted his noodles along his chopstick and chewed slowly, making a deliberate move to appear more interested in his food than what was going on around him. To his internal amusement, the stiff line of her shoulders relaxed just enough that her posture seemed almost slumped. So she was uncertain what to make of him outside the roles of his role as captain and hers as a medic.

"Is Naruto coming?"

"He had a mission," Sasuke said with a shrug. "Won't be back until later."

She slid her eyes over. "So you brought your brother?"

Sasuke snorted. "He brought himself."

Sakura cut her eyes over to Uchiha Itachi and gave him a quick assessing glance. She had rarely seen Sasuke's older brother outside of official assignments or when they had occasionally passed by each other in the Hokage's tower. There was, of course, that one time in the forest of death, but if Sakura hadn't been convinced that Uchiha Itachi noticed everything, she would have been convinced that he hadn't even seen her.

Sakura would be lying if she said she never thought of that time in the forest. The feeling of helplessness, that she and her teammates were going to die and there was nothing she could do about it…and then the way Itachi had come in, stood between them, between Sasuke and that monster like some sort of dark angel and protected him the way she couldn't…

It was something that had gnawed at her, driving her forward. Sasuke might be Itachi's little brother, but he and Naruto were her teammates. She'd be damned if anything happened to them on her watch. Ever. Again.

The heir of the Uchiha would have had every door opened to him even if he _wasn't_ incredibly easy on the eyes, but there was still something about him that was just... off. In a village of shinobi, that was saying something. The extent of his proficiency and focus was an unnatural thing in a world where one of Sakura's classmates spoke to bugs - he was eerie. There were still rumors going around about how early he could have graduated from the Academy if Uchiha Mikoto had not put her foot down and demanded that her son be allowed a normal childhood. Well, as normal as it got for shinobi, anyway…

Sakura blinked, suddenly becoming aware that she had been staring. And he had been… ignoring it? Why? What on earth was he doing here?

Well, Sakura made a point not to run from her problems. She ran _through_ them. "I didn't think I'd see you again so soon, Uchiha-san. I was under the impression that you were eager to get back to taking on missions. I hope you're enjoying your rest."

Sasuke apparently swallowed wrong and started coughing next to her. Sakura ignored him and found herself meeting the too dark eyes of Itachi instead. His expression was as unreadable as ever and if it wasn't for the faintest, almost nonexistent gleam of challenge in his eyes, she might have thought she'd insulted him.

"I have just returned. It was a short mission," Itachi told her in that mild tone of his.

Sakura told herself the way she let her eyes scan his upper torso was completely professional. That she wasn't hoping for a chance to break some of that unflappable clam. She ignored the way Sasuke was still coughing. "Nice of you to remain uninjured."

There was an edge to his expression she couldn't put her finger on; something that made the tilt of his mouth and the slant of his eyes dangerous. Reaching over, he slapped Sasuke between the shoulder blades, his eyes never leaving her face.

"Your concern is noted."

Sakura narrowed her eyes at his tone. She set her menu down on the bar in front of her with studied casualness. "It's always nice to keep the hospital beds for the ones who really need it, instead of the ones too stupid to rest."

"I like to learn from my...oversights." Itachi murmured, tone deepening on as he finished his sentence.

Sakura stared at him. Surely Itachi wasn't… flirting? Feeling suddenly flustered at the thought, she turned back to her menu and decided the best option going forward was to just ignore Sasuke's brother until he left. Everybody knew that family members of teammates were off limits. And while his hair might be a serious temptation for any kunichi crazy enough to get within touching distance of the genius, Sakura did not need that kind of crazy in her life. She had her hands full as it was, and if this is how intensely Itachi responded to a little friendly antagonism, this wasn’t the kind of game she was interested in playing. With studied casualness, she determinedly searched for something to eat that looked appealing.

Sasuke had caught his breath and was flicking his gaze back and forth between them, like he was trying to put together a particularly challenging, and disturbing, puzzle. Itachi ignored his unsettled expression and finished his noodles.

It was clear that Haruno considered the conversation over, and Itachi didn’t bother to hide his amusement as he paid for the meal. Standing, he let his eyes scan the small stall before turning back to his brother and the medic. Moving silently, he leaned over the shoulder furthest away from his brother and tucked a strand of bright hair behind her curiously small ear.

Bending forward, he pitched his voice so only she could hear it. "Have a nice evening, Haruno.” Straightening, he nodded at his brother's slack face and left, satisfied.

"Sasuke…" Sakura's voice was strained with surprise. "What the hell was that?"

"I…" Sasuke planted his hand on the bar between them and cleaned close, not moving his lips, "what the hell did you do?"

"Me!" She squeaked. "I didn't do anything! The only time I've ever even talked to your brother had been—"

"Shut up," he said abruptly. "You're an idiot if you don't realize that he's got to be somewhere around here listening. There's no way he would go through all that trouble to shake you up and not stay around to watch."

Sasuke withdrew, running a shaking hand through his hair.

Sakura's jaw twitched, "To shake me up?"

"Shut up. Talking about it is what he wants. I'm not going to give him the satisfaction."

Sasuke was saved being pounded into the street when the proprietor of the bar came to take Sakura's order. "You're paying," she said to Sasuke after he left. She picked up another fried noodle, crunching on the snack to hide her disbelief. What on earth had just happened?

"What? Why?"

"Because," she turned to look at him with an evil grin. "He's _your_ brother."

"Don't remind me," Sasuke said with a sigh.

* * *

It was an old hospital superstition that the minute anyone mentioned 'it was a quiet night,' all hell would break loose. But it _was_ a quiet night—so quiet that when one of the new nurses had mentioned it in the break room, Sakura hadn't given it a second thought.

She was sorting through some papers in between her office and the ICU. All of her patients were stable, but Sakura knew that in some of their cases, they would only stay that way through careful monitoring.

But she wasn't too focused on her task to look up, eyes narrowed, before she turned a corner in the hall. She recognized that chakra. What was Uchiha Itachi doing here?

…leaning on the wall, apparently. Staring straight at her.

"Uchiha-san. This is twice in one week. I'm starting to detect a pattern."

"Haruno."

She narrowed her eyes at the way he ignored her earlier comment, his dark eyes studying her with an expression she couldn't read. Determinedly stiffening her shoulders, she picked up her clipboard and then turned to him.

"Do you need medical attention?"

Those eyes blinked at her, the corner of one mouth kicking up a little. "No."

Fingers clenching around the papers in her hands, she took a deep breath and offered him her best smile. The one that didn't offer to pound him into the ground for taking up her precious time, when she should be helping patients!

"Well then, Uchiha-san, I have patients I need to see and visitors are only allowed between ten in the morning and eleven at night." She kept her smile as she glanced at her watch. "Since it's nearing two A.M…." she let her sentence hang.

"I was unaware those hours applied to visiting medics," Itachi said. He shifted, moving like fluid until he stood directly in front of her. He made sure to step slightly closer to her than was socially acceptable.

He was curious. When she was tired, surrounded by her teammates, she let herself become snappy. When she was under pressure, if someone was wounded or if an enemy was standing in front of her, she rose to the occasion, consistently standing in the way of that which would harm anyone she vowed to protect. How would she respond with her routine interrupted? Where she thought she was safe? Where she thought she was in charge?

Sakura met his eyes with a wry twist of her lips. "Medics don't receive visitors at the hospital, Uchiha-san. They work."

She nodded at him and stepped to the side, making sure not to step too close or too far away from him. Her heels clicked on the floor as she walked away.

Itachi watched her, considering the way she held herself as she walked. Her shoulders were a little stiff, but her stride was relaxed and there was an efficiency all its own to how she moved, shuffling folders in her arms as if she was completely unaware of his eyes drilling into her back. No kunoichi of any skill would miss his regard, so it was a deliberate choice to ignore him. Amused, Itachi was seriously beginning to wonder how much of an idiot his little brother truly was.

He watched her until she rounded the corner before moving for the nearest exit. Reaching down, he untied the mask at his hip and settled it in place. He had his own mission to complete. Hidden behind bone, his lips curved in into smirk. The Hokage had felt it necessary to keep him on light duty for the next week, so he would have plenty of time to consider his strategy. The more he learned of her, the more he wanted to know, and it had been some time since someone had held his attention.

From everything he had seen of Haruno Sakura, he knew her to be clever. So it would be just a matter of time before she deduced his intentions, and the thought of it, of all her potential reactions to his interest excited him. It was always so much more fun when they saw the trap coming, and Itachi did so enjoy the chase. The little med-nin was turning out to be far more enjoyable than he’d initially imagined, and that was a delight all of its own.

* * *

Team Seven was good at tracking down rumors. Sasuke was a little less subtle than he needed to be occasionally, Naruto was somehow still as exuberant as he'd been in their genin days, and her pink hair was too much of a give away to be sneaky; yet, they somehow always managed to get the job done. Part of it was her skill with chakra, part of it was Sasuke's ability to see through lies, and the rest of it rested solely on the fact that as a team, they worked well together.

Still, Sakura liked to think they could be sneaky when needed. It was just that as a team, they rarely found such a thing necessary. They were stubborn, willing to move through territory that left other shinobi teams uneasy, and had a near perfect success rate for critical missions.

 _Particularly_ if Tsunade didn’t mind a bit of manhandling when they caught up to their… informants. Unfortunately, sometimes they had to reign Naruto in and today, that had been a little more difficult than normal. Wave Country was the first real place they had ever had a mission after all, and his enthusiasm had led to an unexpected delay, and the information they had been given had led them straight into an ambush.

Sakura had recognized the shinobi attacking them almost before the ground blew up beneath their feet. They had run into Sound half a dozen times over the years, and it was becoming a brutal grudge match between them. Orochimaru still wanted Sasuke's body, and would have been quite happy to give Naruto a one-way trip to the Akatsuki headquarters. Team 7 objected strongly to both of those ideas, but no matter how many bodies they left behind them, Sound always sent more.

Snarling, she drove her fist into the torso of the shinobi who had been attempting to impale her with a kunai. The sensation of bones and muscles snapping under her chakra-enhanced punches had long since stopped being a conscious thought, and she followed through, rolling over the body she had just decimated. The heat of Sasuke's _Housenka no Jutsu_ was hot against her back as she leapt to her feet and she drove her fist into the earth, creating unstable ground for those attempting to dodge Sasuke's attack.

She had to shake her blood and sweat slick bangs out of her eyes to see, but she didn't have time to care. The heat of Naruto's back was suddenly at her side, and then Sasuke was there, completing their triangle. Standing shoulder to shoulder like this she felt invincible.

"Sasuke." Her voice was taunt with adrenaline and the strain of battle, the question unspoken.

"That was the last of them." He replied, his voice was as rough as hers.

"Remind me," Naruto said as he breathed heavily through his nose, "why do they keep trying to kidnap you? It's not like you're four anymore and the only person babysitting is your brother. There's gotta be idiots in your clan easier to turn into his next zombie."

"It's my brother's fault." Sasuke grunted as he continued to scan the area for another attack.

"What?" Sakura asked, shifted to bump his back with her elbow. “You never said how this started.”

Even only seeing part of his profile, it was clear Sasuke didn’t want to discuss it _now_. "He and Orochimaru have… issues. Itachi told Orochimaru that he would never let him touch me. Orochimaru took it as a direct challenge. Neither of them are going to give in until the other is dead."

"So Itachi and Orochimaru are fighting over your body…" Naruto murmured suggestively.

Sakura laughed, "I always knew you were too pretty for your own good, Sasuke- _kun_."

"Shut up," Sasuke snapped. "Someone is coming."

"Friendly?" Naruto asked, his voice cheerful as he settled his hands into the first seal of a familiar jutsu.

Sasuke was silent for a long time and then he swore. Sakura tensed. There were only two shinobi that could get that sort of reaction out of her Uchiha teammate and one of them had just turned tail and fled. That meant the other was…

A figure appeared to her left. The bone mask of a rat named him Leaf the same as his ANBU uniform. She had only seen that casual grace in his posture twice in her life, but it named him as surely as Sasuke's hissed breath. The mask was lifted and a pair of sharingan red eyes studied them. Sakura narrowed her eyes at him when his eyes scanned her, taking in her appearance slowly before moving his attention back to his brother.

"Perhaps a little less mess next time."

Next to her, Sasuke's shoulders tensed. He never had a response to his brother in situations like this. She hated the way Sasuke would walk away from these confrontations defeated. He responded to Itachi's digs too personally, and he always beat himself up for it afterwards.

Well, not today.

With the rush of battle still flowing through her veins, Sakura flicked blood soaked hair out of her face, deliberately shifting herself between the Uchiha brothers. "I didn't think a little blood would bother you, Uchiha-san."

Itachi's dark eyes were suddenly lit with some emotion Sakura couldn't define. He dropped his gaze from her face and deliberately perused her body with his eyes from the tips of her blood-flecked toes, lingering on areas where blood had marked her thighs, her stomach, and her chest. She felt his gaze stop for a long moment at her neck, on her rapidly increasing pulse, before he lifted his eyes to meet hers again.

He flowed towards her, each movement deliberate and graceful until he came to stand inches away, his eyes locked with hers. Slowly, he reached out to take a strand of blood-soaked pink hair. The angle of his forearm and wrist allowed her to watch him roll it thoughtfully between his fingertips without dropping her challenging eyes from his.

His voice, when he spoke, was low with just a hint of a growl beneath his words. "I think blood suits you, _Sakura_." Itachi dropped the strand of hair, his fingers stained with blood, and reached forward with slow deliberation to wipe his forefinger in a line down her cheek.

Sakura was unable to move, hardly able to _breathe_ as he continued to watch her with that look in his eyes, half-smile curved along his mouth as his fingers curled against her jaw. His expression was something feral, and she vaguely had time to wonder what she had gotten herself into when a hand wrapped around her wrist and yanked her two steps to the side.

"Stop flirting with my teammate, _aniki_." Sasuke said as he dragged Sakura away from his brother. "Orochimaru went that way."

'Flirting?' Sakura thought as she stumbled along after Sasuke. _'Flirting_?'

"Fl-"

"Shut up." Sasuke growled. "Not one word, Sakura."

"What on earth…" Naruto muttered as he caught up. "Your brother hasn't moved."

Stopping, Sasuke turned to stare over her shoulder. His voice was firm when he spoke, jawline set. "If we catch him first, we aren't leaving you any."

The faint, mocking laughter that followed them into the trees sent chills down Sakura's spine. It wasn’t until that laughter had long faded, a good mile between them and Itachi’s last known position, that Sasuke let her go.

"That was very stupid, Sakura."

"Flirting?" She resisted the urge to reach over and shake him. " _Explain_."

Sasuke stared at her coolly. "My brother has been flirting with you.”

Surprise and shock blossomed in her chest. Her gloves were starting to make creaking noises from the strain she was putting on the leather as she tried to gather herself. “What?”

“You can’t tell me you didn’t notice?” His tone all but called her an idiot, and her spine pulled taut with outrage.

“ _Sasuke_."

The man had the audacity to flinch. "Don't yell at me. I didn't _do_ anything. You're the one who caught his attention and then taunted him with blood!"

She pointed at him, fingers curling into a fist when his gaze dropped. "I was _trying_ to help _you_!"

"Oh boy," Naruto muttered, hand going behind his head. Looking heavenward he sighed. "It's going to be one of those days."

"I didn't need your help, idiot!"

"Well you got it, and now you can fix it!"

There was a long silence. "Excuse me?" Sasuke finally managed, looking alarmed.

"Talk to your brother," Sakura said firmly. "Uchiha Itachi _does not flirt_ , so he’s trying to play some kind of game. I am not a toy, and I don’t play those kind of games. He’s your brother, you're my teammate, so you need to find out what the hell he thinks he’s doing. And you can do it as soon as you see him again, or so help me; I'm going to start at your ankles, end at your neck and break every bone in-between. _Twice_."

Sasuke hesitated, looking pained. "Promise me something, okay?"

"What?"

"Don't _ever_ say that to my brother."


	4. The Fine Line

**18 Years Ago:** _Uchiha Compound_

Six-year-old Itachi was not supposed to be snooping. His ka-chan had made it very clear that there was a difference between 'snooping,' which was what naughty children did, and 'sneaking' which was what good shinobi did.

Unfortunately, the details between what was snooping and what was sneaking had gotten a little blurred. He'd been kept so very busy lately; he'd hardly seen his ka-chan at all. His oto-chan had been taking him on rounds, giving him special training, and having him demonstrate his abilities to the clan elders. His oto-chan was very proud.

Itachi probably wasn't supposed to know that this was all in preparation for him to graduate from the Academy by his next birthday, but after all, he was a genius. He really didn't see the big deal. He was advanced far beyond the other trainees. It only made sense for him to graduate. After all the rest of his class was so. Unbearably. Slow.

He was supposed to be outside, practicing his kunai throwing. His oto-chan had drilled into him that the basics were just as important as more advanced jutsu. It was the basics that would someday save his life, his oto-chan said. His oto-chan was a jounin, and the head of Konoha's police department. His oto-chan knew what he was talking about. So Itachi was willing to practice again and again until his movements became as reflexive as breathing.

But he had seen his ka-chan and his oto-chan talking in the window. It had been so long since he'd talked to his ka-chan. Itachi launched one more perfect round of kunai at the post before sneaking – not snooping – into the house.

His parents were in the kitchen. He wanted to just walk in, but oto-chan would be upset that he was not out practicing what he had mastered months ago. Instead, he hid in an alcove so he could watch. If he couldn't talk to his ka-chan, then he could at least listen, right? It wasn't snooping.

"No," his ka-chan said in that firm, calm tone she had used when explaining to him that there was more than one way to learn. He had been three. She had taken the remnants of the butterfly from his fingers and taken his hand and led him out onto a field. There had been dozens of butterflies. Ka-chan had instructed him to sit and watch. He had asked her how this would help him discover how they flew. She had asked him if tearing off their wings had taught him anything. Itachi had paid closer attention to the flying after that.

"Mikoto, you can't baby him. Itachi is a genius, the likes of which will stamp the Uchiha name into history. He deserves to be given this chance."

"Itachi is a six year old boy. He deserves to be given the chance to develop into a man. More than that, he is _my_. _son_. He is not a weapon, Fugaku, he is not a tool for Uchiha glory, he is _my son_."

His oto-chan placed his hand on the island where his ka-chan was setting up vegetables for the night's dinner. "He's my son too, Mikoto. I'm his father. I am only concerned with what is best for him."

His ka-chan laughed, and he'd never heard a sound quite like it before. When his ka-chan laughed around him, it was light and made his heart light too. This sound was harsh; clanging like that time Matsumoto Kuto had dropped all his kunai on the pavement. "You just told me you wanted my _six year old son_ to graduate from the Academy next year. At seven, he'd be a genin, at ten; he'd be a chunin – maybe even ANBU. And you have the audacity to tell me that you're concerned with what's best with him? Fugaku, listen to yourself."

"Itachi is a genius. He can handle the responsibility."

"Itachi is a genius. This isn't about whether or not he'd be competent. We both know he exceeds every expectation as a shinobi. This is about _Itachi_. It is not right to force that sort of mental and moral stress on someone who is not _developmentally prepared_ for it. No amount of intelligence and skill can compensate for time and experience. You are not taking that away from my son."

His oto-chan sighed, "This isn't something up for discussion, Mikoto. The clan elders and I have already decided to petition the Academy for the advancement tests. I had hoped to have your support in this. But it's not necessary."

His ka-chan's voice was tight, "I don't care what you or the clan elders say. You are not robbing _my son_ of his childhood. You are not submitting _my son_ to the life of a shinobi before he has had a chance to develop a life of his own. _My son_ is going to grow up whole."

"Dammit, Mikoto, he's _my son_ too."

Something changed in his ka-san's voice. It became softer, sweeter—and something in it made Itachi's hackles rise. "You know what, Fugaku? You're right. He is your son. And if you ever want another one, you will allow Itachi to graduate at the same time as the other students in his year. He will mature and progress and learn. He will develop bonds. He will be _our son_ , Fugaku, or I swear by all the kami and by the first blood I spilled that you will have to live with the consequences."

There was a long silence in the kitchen. His oto-chan's voice, when he spoke, was low and raspy, "Mikoto. You know I love you. But this is what is best for Itachi; this is what is best for our clan. I am the clan head only because my aniki died. I will need another son. And you are not the only way I can get it. Think before you speak, my love."

"I love you too, Fugaku. But I think you are missing my point." Itachi heard a draw open and the solid thud of something wet hitting wood. He took a moment to analyze the risk of moving from his hiding spot where he was sneaking—definitely not snooping, as this was obviously important information he would not have otherwise discovered—and decided that his parents were too involved with each other to notice a moving shadow in the safety of their own kitchen.

His eyes widened when he saw what his mother was doing. She had removed a three inch thick steak and was carving it slowly with a spoon. His oto-san's face was growing more and more pale with each small section his ka-chan siphoned off the steak with the spoon.

They were silent for a long moment, his oto-san just watching his ka-chan. Finally, when the steak was unrecognizable, his mother held the spoon up between them. "I would never kill you, Fugaku. You have my loyalty as my husband and my clan leader. But never forget who I am. And I tell you, if you do this thing, you will never be able to have children again."

Itachi focused all his attention on the deliberate way his ka-chan laid the spoon on the table, placing it precisely horizontally before his pale oto-san.

"I trust you understand," his ka-san said quietly.

His oto-san gulped. "I will…speak with the clan elders about your concerns. It is possible that we were too hasty in our excitement and…overlooked…certain key factors…about how this would affect Itachi's development."

His ka-chan executed a flawless bow. "Thank you, honored husband."

His oto-san quickly left the room.

* * *

 **Present Day:** _Hokage Tower_

Sakura wasn't sure who was drooping more, her or Sasuke, though neither of them would admit it. Naruto was cheating with the Kyuubi chakra, but even he was a little wilted around the edges. Sakura wished their report wasn't so urgent and they could find some food. The last four days after the Sound skirmish had been a hard run, and she was tired.

"What is keeping the hag?" Naruto complained from his position against the wall. Sakura cracked open an eye and glared at him.

"Probably ANBU business, or the council, or a genin who did something stupid, or perhaps she was needed in an emergency operation…"

Sasuke's sharp hand motion cut her off and she considered hitting him, but didn't want to move. She was too tired to waste the amount of energy required to make the hit count.

"We got the point."

Shizune's amused face peered around the corner at them, amusement clear on her face. "You three look terrible."

Naruto offered her a bright smile. "We ran a lot."

Shizune rolled her eyes. "I'm sure that's not all you did. Come on, Hokage-sama is ready for you."

True to word, Tsunade was sitting at her desk and it didn't take them long to finish their report. Sasuke never really felt the need to mince words and he was worse when tired.

"So," Sasuke finished. "We think that the rumors about a Cloud and Sound alliance are plausible. Wave Country is particularly nervous about such an event and has spent a great deal of effort to discover if there is any truth."

"They haven't turned anything up," Sakura butted in. "Our… informant didn't have much to say on the matter, but we were ambushed by Sound just inside the border. That could have been for a number of reasons, but it's obvious they are feeling confident."

Tsunade sighed. "If Cloud joins Sound, we're going to have a problem."

"Have we heard anything from our allies?" Sasuke asked.

"Sand hasn't heard anything and I haven't trusted any messengers to send word about what we suspect. Kakashi is still two days out and injured, so he won't be pushing to get back here as quickly as you did," Tsunade informed them. "Once he arrives we can make some decisions."

"Right." Sasuke said. He shifted his weight, a rare sign of his own tiredness."If that's all you needed us for?"

"You three are off duty for the next two days." Tsunade said firmly. "No missions. No work in the hospital. Take it easy. If Kakashi brings back anything interesting, I will need you three in fighting condition."

Sakura sighed. There went her plans for tomorrow. "Yes, Tsunade-sensei."

"Oh man," Naruto sighed.

Sasuke bowed, ignoring them. "If that is all?"

"And stay out of trouble."

Naruto looked offended. He opened his mouth and Sakura grabbed him by the back of his shirt and pulled. "Let's go, Naruto."

Sasuke followed them out and shut the door behind him.

"So now what are we going to do?" Naruto whined. "Who knows when Kakashi's gonna get back? He's always late. We could be stuck here for months."

Sakura eyed him, "You can't honestly be complaining about having a couple of days’ rest. I don't know about you guys, but I'm going home to take a bath. I want to get this blood off me."

Sasuke twitched. "Sakura…"

She turned and looked at him. "Hmm?"

Sasuke sighed. "Never mind. See you tomorrow."

* * *

Itachi swiftly moved across Konoha's rooftops. His report to Tsunade had taken longer than he had anticipated and he was looking forward to a shower and clean clothing. He grimaced behind his mask as he considered the delay in his hunt. Hokage-sama had wanted him to rest for the next forty-eight hours before following his hunch. He didn't approve, but he wouldn't defy a direct order either. Sighing, he landed in the Uchiha compound silently.

Two days of utter…he paused, lifting his mask to uncover his face as he considered the feel of the chakra in the compound. It appeared his little brother had beaten him home. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he considered what that meant. If his brother was home, so was Sasuke's _team_. Eyes gleaming, he moved on silent feet into the house he shared with his parents.

The smell of miso and cooked rice caught his attention as he entered the kitchen. Sasuke was sitting on a stool, hair damp from his own shower talking quietly as their mother finished up preparing their meal. Leaning against the doorway, he waited for one of them to notice him before entering. A fond smile touched his mouth when it was his mother who saw him first, wooden spoon firmly in her hand as she turned, a welcoming smile on her face.

"It's about time you returned home."

"I have been busy, ka-chan," Itachi offered as he moved into the warm room.

"Yes, Hokage-sama informed me that you were off hunting again," Mikoto reached up and patted his cheek. "You need to shower, Itachi. You smell like a slaughterhouse."

He nodded. "Things were a bit messy this time."

"At least wash your hands, and you can have some rice balls to hold you over while you clean up. I will have your meal ready soon." His mother ordered gently, nodding towards the sink.

"You wouldn't let me have rice balls," Sasuke complained from where he was sitting.

"You weren't considerate enough to greet your poor mother before going to clean up," Mikoto returned, rapping Sasuke's knuckles with her spoon. "Besides, you ate lunch with us. Your brother just returned and I doubt he has eaten anything but soldier pills since he left."

"Not true, ka-chan," Itachi corrected her as he swallowed a rice ball. "I stopped in a nice village in Mist and had an excellent bowl of stew."

Mikoto lifted a brow. "I don't think I particularly want to know what you were doing in Mist or what you did to get that bowl of stew."

"Hmm," Itachi agreed as he swallowed the last of his snack. He studied the contents of the kitchen and gauged how long it would take her to finish cooking. Nodding, he turned his attention back to his ka-chan. "I shall return to eat in fifteen minutes."

"It will be ready then," Mikoto agreed. "Your oto-san is off dealing with clan issues, so it will just be the two of you after dinner. I'm heading out for some late shopping."

Itachi nodded his acceptance and moved towards his room to clean up.

-

Sasuke felt the pressure of his brother's attention throughout dinner. He had a bad feeling that he knew _exactly_ what Itachi wanted to talk about. Dammit, it was all Sakura's fault.

 _He'd_ volunteered to help his mother clear the table and wash the dishes, not just because he wanted the extra time to think, and not just because he wanted to help his mother, but because he knew Itachi wouldn't dare try anything in front of Mikoto. It was a well-kept secret in the clan, but Itachi was a total mama's boy.

How the hell had Sakura managed to catch Itachi's attention? Sasuke had brushed the incident at the food stand off as one of his brother's unceasing attempts to irritate him, had excused Itachi's deliberately random excursions (yes, he knew that they were deliberate. He may not be Itachi, but he was not stupid.) as Itachi trying to throw someone off the scent—but when his brother had stepped in front of his teammate and held her blood-stained hair in his fingers…

Sasuke had never suspected Itachi had a sex drive. He was increasingly concerned (and disturbed!) at the thought that long-suppressed hormones had come out and focused on Sakura. The last thing he needed was any kind of mental image of the two of them together. It was bad enough that he even knew this was going on.

When every last dish was put away, Mikoto turned to Sasuke with a smile. "Your brother told me to tell you he'd be waiting by the kunai posts."

Sasuke sighed.

His brother was where he said he would be. As Sasuke approached, he lifted a kunai and tossed it almost carelessly at the post some fifty yards in front of him. Sasuke paused to study the target, which had a small, tightly formed circle of kunai filling the center.

“'Ka-chan isn't going to be happy about replacing that post again."

"If you had hurried, I might not have gotten bored," came Itachi's calm response

Sasuke grunted. Itachi obviously had something he wanted to talk to him about. It was probably about Sakura. Sasuke would be damned if he made it easy on him.

To fill up the time, Sasuke approached the pole and began pulling the kunai out of it. He could feel the weight of Itachi's gaze on his back and refused to crack, despite its hair-raising nature. Itachi had been hitting on his _teammate_. _Itachi_ had been hitting on _his_ teammate. He'd been hitting on Sakura.

And if Sasuke told Itachi to back off, his brother would know he had the added pleasure of irritating him _and_ pursuing…

And if he told Itachi _Sakura_ said she wanted him to talk to him, and why, then Itachi would now only know they talked about it but that she didn’t think he was actually interested in her, and that just… could not be good.

So he wasn't going to bring it up.

"Damn it, aniki!" Sasuke whirled, kunai between his knuckles on each fist. "Why Sakura?"

The corners of Itachi's mouth twitched upwards. "She interests me."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Thank you, I gathered that." Sakura might not think Itachi’s interest was sincere, and Sasuke wasn’t sure he did either, but his brother was definitely curious and _that_ was a path he had no intention of thinking about. He whirled back around, studding the post in a straight line of kunai loosed from his left hand.

The pole split under the pressure.

Itachi made a faint _tsking_ noise.

Sasuke shrugged, turning back to face his brother and grumble, "Whatever, you broke it first. He crossed his arms, a brace of kunai still clasped in his right wrist. "You wanted to talk to me. So talk."

Itachi smiled, and Sasuke suppressed a shiver at the light that came into his brother's eyes. "Correction, little brother. I wanted _you_ to talk. Tell me about Sakura."

Sasuke stared at his brother. He wasn't sure what Itachi expected him to say; much less why Itachi thought he would just start babbling his friend's life story. Except for the fact that Itachi had _that_ expression in his eyes. The next thing Sasuke was going to see was the first stage of the Sharingan as Itachi offered to beat it out of him.

This was _all_ Sakura's fault, she just had to make herself interesting, though only kami knew _how_. The idea of her being a girl sometimes still bothered him. Tightening his grip on the Kunai, he desperately tried to think of some way out of this mess that wouldn't get him killed. Because Sakura was going to kill him if he did and Itachi was going to kill if he didn't.

Unless….

This was really _all Sakura's fault._ He turned that thought over in his head, the glimmer of a plan forming in his head. "Why?"

Itachi lifted a brow as he shifted a little on the post he had rested his shoulder against.

"Why not?"

"Because she is _my_ teammate, Itachi."

The edges of Itachi's mouth curved. "And you are a very foolish teammate."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Itachi rolled forward and picked up a kunai of his own. "It means, my foolish _little brother,_ that you are going to tell me about Sakura."

Scowling Sasuke looked away, hand tightening reflexively. "If you hurt her, I'll do whatever it takes to kill you."

"Of course."

Sasuke was not amused by the smug tone in his brother's voice. "If I ever hear even a hint that you continued after she said no, I'll tell ka-chan."

There was a silence and then a soft laugh. "You're finally developing some ruthlessness. I approve."

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke crossed his arms, refusing to look at his brother.

"Sakura… Sakura-chan is a girl."

Itachi was silent and then snorted. "You have two minutes little brother."

Sasuke waved a hand. "What do you expect, aniki. She's my _teammate_!"

"Clearly."

Sasuke buried his hands into his hair and tugged, frustration building. "What do you want? I mean, Sakura would be much better to ask questions, don't you think?"

"She should be in bed."

And just that quickly, he saw his way out. ' _Which one terrifies you more_ … _Sakura or your brother_?' Really, in the end, there was only one choice. Shifting his weight, he cast a look in Itachi’s direction. “The first night of forty-hours of forced down time? Sakura? In bed?”

Itachi moved into his line of site, his expression hunting sharp. "Tell me."

"How much do you know about Yamanaka Ino?"

* * *

Sakura stared at Ino, highly amused. "Ino, you can't out drink me."

Ino snorted. "Yes I can."

Sakura held up three fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Ha! I'm not going to fall for that!"

Sakura shook her head, amused. She was feeling a little wrung out from the mission they had just returned from, but the nap earlier that afternoon had helped and the hot, steaming shower even more. By the time Ino had showed up to demand she join her for drinks, she had felt a little more human.

It was just the distraction she needed. Not that she was admitting that whatever was going on with Itachi was still bouncing around in her brain (or that she was still distracted by the way his eyes had positively smoldered as he’d brushed her cheek) but she was happy to be out with her friend. Some girl time, a few drinks, and she was certain her equilibrium would be back to normal and she could ignore the creeping feeling she’d missed something.

Speaking of drinks. "Ino, _where_ is Shika?"

"Getting more drinks."

It appeared it was going to be one of those nights.

"Sakura!"

Sakura turned and found herself facing Kiba, Kiba who was dressed all in black and smiling at her in a way that was more fang than teeth. _That_ Kiba. "Kiba!"

"You look a little flushed, Sakura."

She snorted. "I've been drinking with Ino since," she lifted her wrist and studied her watch. " _Hmmm_ since at _least_ an hour ago."

"Just an hour?"

Sticking out her tongue, she pointed a finger at him. "What are you doing here? I thought you were out on a mission!"

Kiba rested his hip against her table and smiled at her. "I just got back."

"So you came here?"

"Man's gotta eat."

Sakura blinked a few times. She had never actually come to this particular establishment to _eat_. Tilting her head, she considered what they were likely to cook and grimaced. She bet Naruto ate here too.

"That's lovely," Ino said, butting in. She was eyeing Kiba curiously. "When did you get a brother?"

"Perhaps we have been drinking for more than an hour," Sakura muttered.

Kiba laughed. "She's pretty gone, huh?" He let his eyes roam over Ino's disheveled figure. "She's not so uptight smashed."

Ino hiccupped, and bounced with the motion. Kiba's eyes followed her bouncing.

Sakura punched him in the arm.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"She's drunk," Sakura said, rolling her eyes. "Knock it off, before I knock off your head."

"It's not my fault she's falling out of her—OW!"

Sakura withdrew her hand, "Leave my friend alone, Kiba."

Kiba rubbed his arm, "You're mean when you're drunk, Sakura-chaaan."

Sakura laughed up at him. "No. I'm just mean."

Kiba laughed and Sakura grinned.

And someone unleashed the hold they had on their chakra. Knowledge trailed down her spine with what felt like anticipation, and Sakura _refused_ to turn and look for him. Sasuke had better have given him her message. She had worked too hard on her own pride to let the older Uchiha prod at her like an living, breathing experiment. The idea that Itachi was romantically interested in her was just… unbelievable.

Decided, she ignored the sudden chakra flare and eyed her half finished drink, wondering if she could talk Kiba into buying her another one. If she left to retrieve the new drink herself, then she was pretty sure her seat would be taken when she got back. A drunk Ino was a particularly good male attention getter. Where was Shikamaru?

"Kiba, do you think –" she paused. Kiba's eyes were a little wider than normal and his jaw was slack. Taking another deep breath, she froze at the sudden brush of chakra and the subsequent heat along her spine.

Her eyes stayed firmly on Kiba, she would not give him the satisfaction of jerking and she would not turn to look at him and were _his fingers in her hair_?

"Inuzuka."

"Uchiha-san," Kiba managed. "Um, well… I guess I'll be seeing you, Sakura."

Her left brow twitched and she narrowed her eyes. Kiba was determinedly not looking at her face and he gave Ino a slightly flirtatious smile, clearly looking to distract himself from the shinobi behind her. Ino was ignoring him, staring with wide eyes at the man who was almost pressed against her shoulder.

She was going to _kill_ Sasuke.

"Sakuuuura," Ino drawled. "Who is that man in your hair?"

Sakura had never wanted to see Shikamaru more in her life. He probably knew it too. That was why he wasn't showing up. She had to admit, the situation looked troublesome to her too.

So the question was: did she leave her obviously judgment-impaired friend alone in the bar and take care of the problem which had so unexpectedly entangled itself with her?

Itachi's fingers tightened in her hair.

She sent a smile absolutely _dripping_ with sugar Kiba's way. "Kiba? Uchiha-san and I are going to step outside for a minute. I am going to leave Ino in your care. If I hear absolutely _anything_ that I would have prevented, if she even gets _upset_ , then I am going to neuter you."

Kiba paled.

Itachi's grip tightened to a near-painful extent. Sakura gave serious consideration to the knife on the table. She'd always wondered what she'd look like with short hair.

Instead she reached around and placed her hand lightly on Itachi's wrist, sending a shock of chakra into a specific pressure point that caused him to loosen his grip enough so that she could push away from the table and stand, pulling away from his grasp.

She turned around to face Itachi, that same sweet smile curving her lips. Sasuke and Naruto would be running by now. The slightly feral look in Itachi's eyes just widened. Sakura ignored the shiver that ran through her at the sight. She wasn't as bad off as Ino, but she was pretty drunk.

"Shall we, Uchiha-san?" With that she turned and walked out of the bar.

It took a little more work than she had expected to walk to the front door, but at least if she’d had enough to weave a little, then Ino had had enough that it was possible she wouldn't remember a thing about this tomorrow. How unlikely. Ino probably had a separate piece of brain dedicated to remember the embarrassing things that happened to her friends.

Outside was dark and the streets were mostly empty, so Sakura steered them over to the little alcove between the front door and the alley. She was drunk, not stupid, and there was no way she was going into a dark alley with Uchiha Itachi. Turning around, she was startled by how close he was. Close enough that she could clearly make out his features even in the dark.

He opened his mouth but there was no way in hell she was giving him the open volley. Jabbing a finger into his chest, she glared at him.

"What the hell was that?"

"You were flirting with Inuzuka."

Sakura felt a headache forming behind her left eye. Shoving her finger a little firmer into his chest, she hissed at him.

"That was _not_ flirting. Besides, we've scarcely exchanged ten sentences! What makes you think you can just come up behind me when I'm talking to my _friends_ and put your hands on me like you own me!"

His fingers curled around the digit shoved into his chest, calloused fingers stroking over her knuckles. "Ah, Sakura, I think that should be obvious."

She refused to be intimidated by the way he was watching her. That faint curve on his mouth and the unnervingly feral look in his eyes; she refused to believe the butterflies in her stomach were from anything other than adrenaline. Growling at him, she tried to get her fingers back.

"I think what is obvious is that you're _being rude_."

He smiled, the edges of his mouth curving into something vaguely wild. " _Hmmm_."

Jerking her hand again, she glared at him. "Let me go."

"I have decided to learn you, Haruno Sakura."

Sakura froze. His voice had been soft, but there was a faint, sharp edge to those words that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. The expression in his eyes was almost lazy now.

"What?"

His free hand tangled in the hair behind her ear but she was too startled and too drunk to do more than gawk at him. That seemed to amuse him and he leaned against the wall, his hands pulling her close enough that she could feel the heat of him against her arms and legs.

"I didn't think you were hard of hearing," Itachi said as he pulled her closer. He leaned forward so that his long hair brushed against her face and neck as he placed his lips directly by her ear. "I said, I have decided to learn you, Haruno Sakura."

Despite herself, Sakura shivered. Uchiha Itachi was a very attractive man. A very dangerous man whose sanity was generally in question. And her mostly drunk brain was struggling to comprehend what he was saying, because it had been short circuited by alcohol and just how close he was standing. Learn her, _learn her_? What did that mean?

And then his breath ghosted across her neck, leaving goosebumps in its wake and it occurred to her that the niggling sensation that she’d missed something was _this_. Itachi...might be serious. He might _actually be_ flirting with her, but not as a game, but… flirting with her. To _flirt_ with her. Because… he might…

God, she was too drunk for this.

Sakura forced herself to steady. So _what_ if Uchiha Itachi had suddenly decided to flirt? So _what_ if it was with her? She’d just told him to let her go, and that meant he should let her go, and being drunk did not mean she couldn’t hit him if he didn’t. She leaned forward just enough to place her lips by his ear, because she would not be intimidated, "And I told _you_. Let. Me. Go."

Sakura was close enough that she could feel Itachi tense, the lean line of him going impossibly still. And then he laughed, a warm, deep chuckle that really should not have set butterflies off in her stomach like it did.

"I think," Itachi murmured, "that I am going to enjoy learning you very much. And Sakura… I have always excelled in whatever area I chose to study."

He dropped his head abruptly and planted a hot kiss at the base of her throat. Tracing his nose up the side of her neck, he returned his mouth to her ear. "I am not finished with you."

And before the puff of his warm breath had finished cascading down her throat, she was alone. Sakura stared at the wall blankly for several seconds before she had to strain to keep from reaching up and touching the warm place on her neck his mouth had been.

 _Itachi_ had just kissed her _neck_.

Apparently Sasuke _hadn't_ gotten her point across or she’d been wrong. _Or_ Itachi had taken it as a challenge and she’d been right. Either way, she needed to go back into the bar because there was a chance he was watching her to see what her reaction was and she was not ever going to let him have the satisfaction.

He had _not_ gotten to her. Turning on her heel, she moved quickly back into the bar.

Kiba was right where she had left him, joined by the wayward Shikamaru. Ino was listing heavily to one side, but her eyes lit up with a fairly evil sort of gleam when she caught sight of Sakura moving back towards them.

She should have just let Ino become Shikamaru's problem. Still, if Itachi was watching, and Sasuke seemed to be under the impression that he did watch after screwing with people's heads, she needed to be in here. Not out there. And maybe she could beat out some advice from Shikamaru on how to deal with the Uchiha. They were somewhat friends, and at the very least they competed against each other playing Shogi. So he had to know something about how Itachi's mind worked.

"Haruno Sakura! You went outside and made out with _Uchiha Itachi_?"

It was going to be a very long night.


	5. His Heart in Her Hand

**11 Years Ago:** _Konoha Training Grounds_

Hana studied her new teammates and tried to figure out if she had gotten _really_ unlucky. Aburame Itsuki wasn't exactly the weirdest person she knew, but he ranked pretty high up there. And he was boring. She didn't care if he had bugs living under his skin. There was still something pretty strange about someone who wore sunglasses and a big jacket even in this heat.

Then there was Uchiha Itachi. She scowled at him. He was ignoring her. Wrinkling her nose, she buried her fingers into the fur of her favorite puppy and tried to decide if she could get away with throwing a kunai at him. She didn't like to be ignored. It didn't matter that he was ignoring everyone, even bug-boy – who he seemed to watch whenever he could – with an expression that was carefully blank. It made her want to throw a kunai at him.

It was really so unfair that she got him out of everyone else.

What was so interesting about bugs, anyway? She had Onshi, which was cooler than anything Itsuki could do. He had bugs. She had a dog. She didn't care if Itachi was a genius; he missed some rather obvious things. Narrowing her eyes, she turned her attention back to their teacher. There was a faint twitch under the Jounin's eye. Her uncle had one of those.

"So," their new sensei said mildly. "Perhaps we can begin by talking about what we like and what we plan on doing as shinobi. Hana, why don't you go first?"

Hana stared at him. What? He wanted her to go first? Crossing her arms, she continued to stare at him, and when he didn't even blink, sighed.

"Dogs."

There! Let him make of that what he wished. Hana tilted her head and wondered how long it would take before the Jounin started rubbing his nose. She had seen Uchiha-sama make the motion once or twice... actually; any adult around Itachi seemed to develop that particular habit, but most especially his oto-san.

"And what do you want to do as a shinobi?"

Hana huffed. "What all shinobi want to do, sensei."

The jounin sighed.

"Itachi?"

Itachi tilted his head and was silent for a long time. Hana didn't particularly like those silences. They usually meant Itachi was planning something and she hated it when he made her look like an idiot. So, she poked him in the arm. He cut his eyes to her, clearly unappreciative of the gesture.

"I like rice balls," he said. "I'm going to kill Orochimaru."

The jounin blinked. "Okay... That's a very... interesting… goal."

Itachi just shrugged, dark eyes unblinking.

"I like flowers." Itsuki said softly from where he was sitting. "Especially poisonous ones. I plan on becoming at least a jounin, perhaps ANBU."

The jounin nodded looking slightly relieved. "Excellent."

She sensed weakness. Hana jabbed Itachi with her elbow as the Jounin stood and directed them to the woods to start testing their abilities.

"Bet I can make him crack before you."

Itachi snorted. "You shouldn't make bets you can't win, Inuzuka."

She glared at him. "Bet you three dango sticks I can do it."

Itachi tilted head and for a moment, and his eyes gleamed red. "I like _goma_."

Hana rolled her eyes. "You're going to lose."

He smirked. "I don't lose, Hana. You'll learn."

* * *

**Present Day:** _Fire Country_

"Um, Sakura-chan? We sort of need him alive to help deliver our message to Gaara."

Sakura shifted her eyes away from Sasuke's back and gave Naruto a fierce glare. "I know that. Why do you think he is still breathing?"

Sasuke didn't bother to look back as they vaulted through the trees but Sakura knew he could hear them. She also knew that Sasuke was quite aware that she was considering all the ways to ship his neatly preserved internal organs back to his clan. Preferably to his brother. His crazy brother who spoke nonsense and kissed unsuspecting girls who had been drinking.

"Right. Well, okay. Just thought I would mention it, since you keep reaching for your kunai. And you should probably not skin Sasuke alive." Naruto’s smile faltered at her look. "Um, yes! We get to see Gaara!"

Yes. Wonderful. Swearing through clenched teeth, Sakura forced herself to forget and ignore what had happened in Konoha and concentrate on what was going on in the mission.

Kakashi had finally checked in. His news hadn't been good. There had been definitely more than rumors going on in Mist about possible Cloud and Sound alliances. This meant now it was urgent that they go and warn Sand. If a war started, they would need their allies ready and willing to step in.

Sasuke stopped suddenly, his eyes narrowing. "We have company coming."

Sakura moved to his side. "How many?"

"One."

Sakura slid her fingers into her gloves and took her place at Sasuke's left and Naruto slid next to her open side. All three of them were tense until a Sand-nin burst through the cover of the leaves. He skidded to a stop when he saw them and the relief on his face would have been comical at any other time.

His news wasn't good. Sakura bit her lip as she watched him take careful sips out of Naruto's canteen, his expression weary. Gaara had been kidnapped by Akatsuki. Kankuro had been poisoned by some unknown poison and the only clues Sand had was the descriptions of the member and whatever information Kankuro could tell them when he woke up. She shot a worried look at Naruto, whose face was hard. Quickly assimilating the facts she turned to Sasuke.

"We're going to need back up." Their team was equipped to handle a great deal but Akatsuki was an organization they didn't have any concrete information on. Just rumors and insubstantial facts.

Sasuke nodded. "Yes."

"Do you know where the Akatsuki took Gaara?" Sakura questioned the Sand-nin.

"No." He shook his head. "I was sent to relay the message. We had hoped to get help in time to save Kankuro but…"

Sakura let a heavy breath out. "We need to go to Sand, Naruto."

His fists clenched. "Gaara…"

"We can't help him if we don't know where he is." Sasuke said flatly. "And Sakura is right. We have our own mission to complete."

"Please tell Hokage-sama that we will continue to Sand and that we will require assistance in order to retrieve your Kazekage." Sakura requested softly. The Sand-nin nodded, handed back his canteen before taking off.

'At least Naruto is waiting until he leaves before exploding.' Sakura thought with a sigh.

"We have to save Gaara." Naruto said finally, his voice low.

"We will." Sakura informed him. "But we have to go to Sand first."

Naruto spun around. "Why? We can track him!"

Sasuke snorted. "Not easily, and we don't even know what direction we should be heading. We will waste a day going to Sand. We will lose two, perhaps three trying to locate a cold trail."

Naruto's jaw worked hard and Sakura laid a hand on his arm. "We can run through the night, Naruto. We have to drop off the scroll before we can start a new mission and I need to see what poison was used on Kankuro. We might have to deal with it in our battle with the Akatsuki and I want to have an antidote on hand if that is the case."

Naruto's fingers clenched.

"You want to tell Gaara we let his brother die?" Sasuke asked mildly.

Naruto finally shook his head. He took a deep breath and turned. "Alright. Let's go."

Sasuke turned to Sakura. "If you get tired, say something."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I'll be fine."

"Sakura-chan…"

She stuck her hands on her hips and glared. "If I can survive Itachi's idea of a two day run, I can surely survive yours, Sasuke."

Sasuke twitched. "Right."

Naruto growled at them. "Let's go!"

Sakura waved her hand. "After you, Uchiha."

Sakura was pretty sure that if Sasuke had been capable of rolling his eyes, he would have. Instead, he jumped into the tree and she quickly followed.

They had to hurry.

* * *

Many shinobi found the hunt boring. Itachi was not one of them. There was something about sneaking up behind someone who was _supposed_ to know better and was doing all that was possible to discourage pursuit which was…amusing.

The better the target was, the more Itachi enjoyed the chase. Kabuto was supposedly one of the best, but so far, Itachi had been unimpressed.

Haruno Sakura, on the other hand…

Itachi allowed himself a smug smile as he moved soundlessly through the trees. She certainly promised to be…interesting. He had been more entertained in their short confrontations than he remembered being in years. The way her body had responded to his when he held her had been…not unexpected, but certainly interesting. If she hadn't been drunk…

Well, he had indicated to Sasuke he'd back off if she told him to. While Itachi had no qualms about going around whatever he told his brother in order to achieve his goals, he had seen his mother in action when she was disappointed. Itachi liked his pertinent parts where they were.

And he wanted Sakura fully invested in where this path was going. Drunk and surprised, she’d been delightful, but he was certain she’d be even more so sober and matching him move for move. He had been correct in his instinct to learn what it was that drew her, and for the first time in years, he looked forward to his time spent behind the walls of the village.

But as enjoyable as his thoughts were, he would have to perfect his plans for this particular area of his life later. Eyes narrowing, he paused on a branch, letting his sharingan take in the scene around him.

He had been hunting Kabuto for five days now. Tracking him from Fire into Wind country had been easy enough, but the air had changed several miles back. He would need to be cautious to avoid detection now since his instincts told him he was nearing his goal.

Tsunade had requested that he discover what he could about the Akatsuki on this particular mission. From what he had learned, Kabuto had been acting as a spy for both sides for months now. He was the only direct link from Orochimaru to the Akatsuki organization, and with the rumors between Cloud and Sound, Konoha needed to know what they were dealing with from the Akatsuki as well.

Unfortunately, the information they had on the organization was greatly limited. Eyes roving around him carefully, he moved along the tree branches. The day Tsunade signed off on killing Orochimaru would be a day he would greatly _enjoy_. Unfortunately, he had information they needed. His eyes narrowed. However, as he had told his Hokage, if Orochimaru actually managed to lay a hand on his rather foolish brother, order or no, the threat would be dealt with.

Itachi frowned, stilling as he sensed a vibration through the tree he was standing on. Focusing his sharingan, he looked forward and a hiss escaped his teeth. Kabuto's trail was disappearing, but that was suddenly not his most important problem.

What was Sasuke doing fighting an Akatsuki?

Itachi only debated for a moment whether or not to continue on Kabuto's trail. He had heard exemplary tales about Team 7's competence, but when it came to Akatsuki…

Actually, it appeared that he would not be forced to make the decision just yet after all. The remnants of Kabuto's trial led straight towards the confrontation. If he happened to pause for a few minutes to take in the local scenery before resuming his hunt, Tsunade _had_ been after him to rest more.

Itachi took a moment to survey the scene. His brother and his teammate were in pursuit of a shinobi on a flying bird which appeared to be made out of clay. He didn't see Sakura anywhere.

Itachi debated joining the fight and simply taking out the Akatsuki. It would be the most direct course of action, but not the most effective. The information that Konoha had on the organization was limited at best, and it was better to discover exactly what the strengths and weaknesses of this particular member were before forcing Akatsuki to recruit another.

He kept himself hidden as he ran, parallel to his brother and his teammate, deliberately keeping pace with them. The Akatsuki kept throwing back little pieces of animated clay, which were enhanced with chakra to explode at key moments. There was no point in getting into a ditch which only served the enemy's purpose.

Itachi was again tempted to simply jump up and take down the Akatsuki. However, now was as good a time as any to see just how well his brother was learning what he was taught and if that blond idiot was as competent as Tsunade insisted he was.

* * *

"Naruto."

"What?"

"Distract him."

"What do you think I am doing?"

Sasuke ignored the comment and worked a series of hand seals before activating the Goukakyuu no Jutsu. Fire shot out of his mouth and when the clay hit met his flame they hardened and hit the earth quicker than the blonde moron on the clay bird had expected and prematurely exploded. That suggested that they could get within a certain distance of Deidara without worry about getting something important blown off. Naruto didn't have the speed to make the sort of hit necessary to deal with the explosives while disabling the bird and he had no control of a fire jutsu.

This meant he was going to have to find a way to either slow the damn bird down or rip the beak off before attacking. Sasuke sighed mentally as he dodged another explosion. Naruto was getting too worked up to be of use. It was moments like these that he missed Sakura's level head.

"I've got an idea." Sasuke snapped, flinging himself to the right to dodge yet another of the fucking birds.

"I'm going to rip that guy's head off!"

"You can do that after my idea," Sasuke snarled. "Calm down Naruto, or you're going to get us both killed."

"Shut up! GAAARA!"

This meant he was going to have to do this on his own. Great.

He didn't have time to worry about Naruto. Sakura was facing the puppet master with no one but the old woman and they needed to get back to her. Making a fast series of seals, he reached for the shuriken he kept for this purpose on his belt. Flinging them forward, he snarled out the ninjutsu.

" _Sharingan Soufuusha Sannotachi_."

One of the shuriken was knocked out of the sky by one of the clay birds, but he managed to direct the other two around the beak and wing of a bird. Forming another set of seals, Sasuke formed the second jutsu as quickly as he could. The ninjutsu weren't complex enough to give the Akatsuki member trouble if he managed to get close enough to get another one of those exploding clay bombs into a wire to sever it.

"Ryuuka no Jutsu."

Fire raced along the guide wire and crashed into the large clay bird, stiffening a wing and charring Deidara. The beak fell off of the bird completely and Naruto howled, lunging after it. Sasuke swore himself when he realized that he hadn't gotten a clean hit on the Akatsuki and was about to chase after Naruto when a different explosion rocked the woods the blonde had fallen into.

"What…"

"Not bad, little brother."

Sasuke whirled around, disbelief pouring out of him. Itachi was standing on a log, his expression amused, the limp form of the Kazekage slung over one shoulder.

"Aniki," Sasuke hissed. Of course, Itachi _would_ show up now. And pose on the log with the Kazekage slung over his shoulder and his _hair_ blowing in the breeze.

There were days Sasuke hated his older brother.

"Gaara!" Naruto yelled, and was instantly at Itachi's side, and was grabbing at the limp form of the Kazekage. "Gaara. GAARA!"

Itachi put a hand on Naruto's shoulder in a moment of deliberate contact. He waited until the boy looked up at him. "The Kazekage is beyond our help."

Naruto snarled, "Shut up. Shut UP. That can't be right. It can't be. It's not fair. Why does everything bad always have to happen to _him_? Gaara!" Naruto shouted directly into the corpse's face. "Wake _up_ , you idiot!"

Itachi's eyes met Sasuke's in a moment of wordless communication. Sasuke nodded, and moved to stand beside Naruto, who had lain Gaara down on the ground and was incapable of holding in his tears.

Itachi eyed Naruto's breakdown with clinical interest. He had expected more from him. Falling apart on a battlefield did no one any good. Let the dead mourn the dead, there were other considerations.

"Where is Sakura?" he asked Sasuke.

"Finishing up the other Akatsuki," Sasuke said. "What happened to the one in the forest?"

Something dangerous lit in Itachi's eyes. "You let her fight the Akatsuki _alone_?"

"Someone had to watch this idiot," he said, gesturing to Naruto who was still lost in grief. "Sakura had an elder of Sand to back her up. She'll be fine."

Itachi didn't say anything; he just turned to scan the area for Sakura's chakra.

Sasuke crouched down to meet Naruto's eyes. "Naruto. We need to go back to Sakura. Now."

"I'm not leaving him," Naruto snarled.

"Then take him with us," Sasuke said, standing. "And hurry. That Akatsuki said his master was even stronger than he was."

Itachi was already gone.

* * *

Sakura watched as the damn head finally stopped talking. She hurt in places she didn't want to think of, the places the chakra strings had attached to her stung, her stomach was cramping from the force of the chakra Chiyo had forced into her and she had never felt so exhilarated.

"Sakura, are you alright?"

"I feel like I have been mauled, but I'm okay." She stood slowly and tested her limbs. Once she had a chance to rest, what was left would be easy enough to heal. If Naruto or Sasuke managed to get themselves half-killed she was going to be in trouble, but for the moment she savored her victory.

She had beaten an Akatsuki. Closing her eyes, she tasted that thought before opening them again to look around the cave. Or what was left of the cave. With the roof blown off, sunlight brought a different view of what exactly they had managed to do.

Sasuke was going to have _kittens_.

"We'll, I'm glad I didn't have to face that alone." Sakura muttered.

"You did well. Your village is honored by your actions today." Chiyo told her, a slight smile on her wrinkled face. "It was an honor to fight by your side, Sakura."

Sakura bowed as best she could with her stomach muscles locking up on themselves before turning back to the puppet. "I hate to say this, but we better deal with what's left of him."

Chiyo was silent and Sakura turned. Her eyes softened at the abject misery on the older face. "Don't worry. I can do it."

"We need to destroy the heart."

Sakura sighed. She was out of weapons and she didn't dare touch anything on the ground. Pulling a face, she strode over to the puppet and used the tiniest amount of chakra she could to weaken the cover. Reaching inside, she made a face at the warmth of the organ in her hands.

She heard a noise, felt Chiyo gasp and pulled the heart out, squeezing with her fingers as she did so. It gave under her chakra-induced grip and oozed between her fingers.

"That is so gross." Naruto's voice was weak.

Sakura's head snapped up and she found Sasuke and Naruto staring at her with equally ill expressions, but it was the expression on Itachi's face that stole her rational thought.

There were very few moments in Itachi's life where he could remember being impressed. There were even less where he could remember being surprised. The fact that he was now both was only marginalized by the sudden, sharp, _hungry_ desire he felt when he watched Haruno Sakura crush a human heart.

She was standing in the center of what had once been a cave. The entrance to the cave had been destroyed, and large holes punched through the roof, allowing light to shine in like spotlights. There were pieces of puppets strewn around like discarded body parts, dripping with a purple liquid like blood. And she – she was standing in the center of it all, the only evidence that she had been involved in the fight, a scrape on her cheek and the sweat which plastered her hair to her neck.

Sakura had her arm at a right angle as she held the heart face-level. The look on her face was clinical, removed, and entirely unaffected when she crushed the container. The blood spurted outward, and dribbled down her arm.

The other teammate muttered something, drawing Sakura's attention away from the glorious mess in her hand.

She paled ever so slightly, but Itachi knew it wasn't because of what she'd done. He knew that some of his hunger was reflected in his expression. He wanted it to be. Everything in her called out to him in that moment, to wrap himself around her and possess her, to know her every part, every inch of her soul.

He watched her lower her hand and drop the heart to the ground at her feet like it was nothing. Itachi took a step towards her, barely conscious he had done so.

"So!" Sakura said, her voice unnaturally high. "We won here. What happened with you guys? Where's Gaara?"

'Why is Itachi _here_?'

Her eyes locked onto Sasuke's but he was staring at her, a mixture of pride and horror in his eyes. Naruto just looked constipated and she latched onto the thought, desperate to ignore the eyes that were burning against her skin, that hot look that had promised more than she was certain she could handle. He looked like he had wanted to… to…

"Damn, Sakura-chan, what did you do?"

She wasn't sure if she was terrified or thrilled. Swallowing, hard, she tried to smile. "Um, well… Naruto!"

He froze, hand centimeters off the ground. Marching towards her blonde friend, Sakura wondered if she could just kick him out of the cave. With force. She settled on bringing her fist down on top of his head before sliding so his body was between her and a still silent Itachi.

"Ow!"

"That is poisoned, you blond-idiot!" Grabbing him by the collar, she heaved. "Now, where is Gaara?"

Cave entrance. Outside in the fresh air, Sakura. Where there isn't blood and death and _Itachi_. Outside.

Naruto stiffened under her fingers and Sakura stopped dragging him. Twisting, stomach muscles complaining at the awkward motion, she stared at him. "Naruto?"

"Gaara…" his voice was rough and broke. Sakura's eyes widened and swung back to Chiyo, who was moving slowly in her direction.

"Gaara is dead."

Sakura blinked rapidly. Forgetting about Itachi and the way his eyes were still burning through her, she opened her arms and Naruto fell into her hug. Tangling her fingers into his blonde hair, she held him for a moment before stepping back.

"We should take him home." She told Naruto gently. He looked away before nodding.

"Yeah."

By the time they reached the cave entrance, Chiyo had been joined by Team Gai and Kakashi. Sakura blinked at how dirty they were.

"What happened to you?"

Neji looked up, eyes flickering behind her. "A minor inconvenience; the Akatsuki member got away."

Kakashi tilted his head. "Uchiha."

"Kakashi." Itachi replied as he approached. "If you continue that, old woman, you'll die."

Sakura's head snapped around but she held her tongue. This was Chiyo's choice to make. Swallowing as she watched the play of emotions on Naruto's face and shifted so she was standing close enough to feel Sasuke's body heat.

She didn't want to watch. It wasn't just that Chiyo was her friend; it was that she could see herself in what she was doing. That could be her some day. That could be – she would never let that happen to Naruto. She couldn't look away but when Naruto placed his hands on Chiyo's to share chakra in this desperate attempt to save Gaara, she had to. Wrapping her arms around herself, she stared instead back into the cave. She knew it was almost dishonoring to look away as her friend – Sasori's grandmother, an Elder of Sand, perhaps even Gaara's friend – sacrificed herself not only for her Kazekage, but perhaps looking for some way to right the wrongs of her family. _Honor_. And she couldn't watch.

Instead, she concentrated on facts. She had the hand seals now; she knew what she could do with them. She understood herself better than she had ever in her life and they had all but declared war on the Akatsuki.

What was going to happen next?

* * *

"So you squished a heart?"

Sakura slipped and crashed right back into the water she had been attempting to climb out of. Half a day's run out of Sand and they were finally near enough water to bathe. She and Tenten had decided to take advantage and had slipped away to clean themselves up.

Coming up, she spluttered at Tenten who was trying very hard not to laugh at her.

"What?"

Twisting up her damp hair into those familiar buns, Tenten smiled at her. "Naruto. It's all he has been able to talk about. Sasuke actually tried to punch him. So I thought I'd ask."

"Yes. I did. Nothing like a fresh organ sliding through a girl's fingers to make her happy." She tried to keep her face straight, but the way Tenten's nose wrinkled in obvious disgust sent her into peals of laughter.

When she had finally finished, Tenten was offering her a hand out of the water, her eyes laughing.

"I think I know why Lee likes you so much now."

Sakura froze. _Lee. Itachi._ Not a good combination for her already frazzled nerves. The last few days had been a hard run back to Konoha to report so there hadn't been that much time for conversation. Figured that Naruto would manage it.

"Of course," Tenten continued, her dark eyes dancing, "Uchiha-san also seemed to be… appreciative."

Sakura scowled as she pulled her clothes back on. A flair of chakra and the damp clothing was dry. She gave the other girl an exasperated look, which just made her smile. " _Thanks_ , Tenten."

"No problem. I'm meeting Neji to throw a few kunai around over there." She pointed away from camp. "Interested?"

"No thanks."

"See you at dinner, then." Tenten said cheerfully, as if she hadn’t just poked Sakura to see if she’d jump.

Sakura would have been impressed if she’d directed it at anyone else. Shaking her head, she rubbed her eyes in with her palms. This had been one hell of a diplomatic mission. At least they were assured Sand's support in the event of a Sound/Cloud alliance. There was no way that Gaara would leave them in the lurch now.

Sakura tried not to think about exactly why Gaara was still alive. As a shinobi, Sakura knew objectively that fighting in difficult situations forged a bond. She and Chiyo had depended on each other in the worst sort of situation, and because of that they had come through it alive. She removed her hands from her eyes and stared down at them. With these hands, she had killed an Akatsuki member. Sure, she'd had help, but… she had felt the chakra pulsing from his heart extinguish in her grasp. His heart… the only part of him that was still real.

How could anyone _do_ that to themselves? What kind of monsters were they facing?

She looked up a split second before her wrists were lightly, but firmly clasped in Itachi's hands.

"I understand that you're tired," he said, "but you should be more alert to your surroundings."

"Shut-up," Sakura said, pulling at her wrists. His grip only tightened. "You know as well as I do that you can sneak up on damn well anyone you want."

He chuckled, that unexpectedly warm sound which sparked a heat in her stomach, an entirely inappropriate one considering the situation. One of his fingers traced the line of her pulse on her right wrist.

She hid her shiver with a sigh, and met his gaze. "What do you want, Uchiha-san?"

"Many things," he murmured. That light was back in his eyes, and it was similar to the look Sasuke got right before he activated his sharingan. "To begin with, _Sakura_ , I would have you call me by my name. Call me Itachi."

Her eyes widened, and she suddenly became aware that he was much closer than he had been moments ago. Had she moved or had he? He was crowding her, trying to make her feel hunted… and that irritated her. She was the only living person in the world who had killed a member of the Akatsuki. While Sakura was under no illusions about the disparity between her and Itachi's skill level, she refused to be intimidated by him and his pretty eyes and long silky hair.

She tilted her head in an attempt to meet his gaze evenly. "Calling someone by their first name is a privilege that must be _earned_ , Uchiha-san, either by familiarity or affection. You are my teammate's brother. I do not believe that would be appropriate to our relationship."

The man should not be allowed to smile like that. It should be made illegal. She'd speak with Tsunade about it when she got back.

"Let me assure you," kami, his voice was like velvet chocolate, "that I hold you in the highest esteem. 'Affection' is the least of what I feel for you. And," he lifted up her hand, her right hand, and the hand which had held Sasori's heart up to his mouth, "I intend to become extremely _familiar_ with every part of you."

Her brain was still processing his statement when she felt his lips on the tip of her pinky. Wide-eyed, she stared at him as he kissed each fingertip before pressing a kiss in the precise center of her palm.

"Sakura."

Her brain stuttered at the way he said her name and the way his mouth moved against her skin when he said it. His eyes never left hers as he curled his fingers around hers and then he was that much closer again. Her spine hit the trunk of a tree and she stubbornly held his gaze.

Clarity was slow to establish itself, and no matter what Ino thought, even _she_ wasn’t a big enough idiot not to understand these signals. This was no drunken supposition - Itachi was really was flirting with her. Whether he had underlying motives or not -- underneath the underneath, always -- he had one very, very _blatant_ motive, and he’d just kissed every finger on her hand with careful attention while she’d been staring at him trying to catch up. Holy _shit_. Her fingertips were practically vibrating against his mouth, and her pulse was racing. But underneath the hot spike of arousal was a lingering disbelief. Swallowing, she tried to find her voice. "I think this is all very sudden, Uchiha-san."

The words came out more of a whisper than she intended, but he didn't seem to mind. Instead he tangled his fingers in the damp hair at her temple and considered her, eyes moving slowly along her face as if he was looking for something. She didn’t pull away, didn’t reach up to clamp her hand around his wrist in a bone-crushing grip, all things she could have done. She might make an excuse to herself later, say her stillness and lack of resistance was strategic, that she didn’t want to escalate the situation… but Sakura knew herself, and the truth was, all logic aside, there was something _exciting_ about being this close to him, about being the sole recipient of his focus.

All logic aside, she was enjoying this. Him.

"Perhaps."

She narrowed her eyes, irritation at his high-handedness giving strength to those logical reasons and reactions that had been glazed over by surprise at his early touch. This was still Uchiha Itachi and involving herself with him in any way was going to make her life even more complicated than it already was.

"I don't like surprises."

That smile was back and she could have sworn he was laughing at her.

"Surprises? I told you, Sakura, I learn from my oversights." He made an almost _tsking_ noise in the back of his throat. "I do not repeat the same mistakes."

This conversation was not going where she had expected it to. Yes, he’d said that, but how could she have possibly been expected to believe he meant it? She was his brother’s teammate, a girl without a clan -- she had nothing to offer the Uchiha heir. But she found that she was reluctant, for reasons that had nothing to do with fear, to look in his eyes and tell him that she hadn’t believed he’d really meant it. Shutting her eyes in frustration, she tried again.

"What oversights were those?" she questioned instead. "I'm your brother's teammate, there is nothing to overlook."

Warm breath ghosted over her cheeks as velvet soft kisses were pressed gently against her closed eyelids. Her eyes snapped open in shock and she found that if she tilted her head in any direction her mouth would brush his. His eyes were almost sharingan bright. His chin raised a fraction, so that his next words were whispered delicately across her lips.

"You're going to be mine, Haruno Sakura."

He thought he had her well and truly trapped. _Arrogant._ She couldn't move back, she couldn't move to the side, any movement of her head at all would bring her lips in contact with his.

Sakura's eyes narrowed. She briefly entertained the thought of just kissing him, and then shoving him away. She would not be backed into a corner, but she wasn’t sure yet if she wanted to encourage him. Flirting or not, she had too much pride to be a fling for the Uchiha heir, to be considered a clan-stalker, just so he could satisfy his need to know what made her tick. But even knowing all of that, there was a part of her that she did _not_ trust which was far too enthusiastic about the idea of what he was promising. His. As if she could be claimed, and it would just be _so_.

Sakura didn’t think so.

So she didn't move forward and she didn't move backward and she ignored the rebellious thrill that raced across her spine at his words and the way her skin was tingling from the touch of his lips. "I do not belong to anyone. And I never will."

Sakura was getting really, really tired of hearing that laugh. Until last week she hadn't even been aware Itachi knew _how_ to laugh. And what was worse was that a part of her got so…excited, so satisfied at the sound.

The hand in her hair loosened and he traced his little finger down her skin by her ear, under her jaw, down her neck until his hand had reached the V of her shirt. In one swift movement, he pulled the material back and shoved something small, hard, and cold into her bindings between her breasts.

"I look forward to discussing it when we are both back in Konoha. Keep that safe for me," he said against her lips. He moved so that he brushed his cheek across hers until his mouth came to rest just outside her ear. "And get some rest."

And with a nip at her ear lobe, he was gone.


End file.
